The Transvaal lion , or Southeast African lion ( lat. Panthera leo krugeri ) is a subspecies of a lion that lives in southern Africa . Its name comes from the Transvaal region.
Transvaal lion | ||||||||||||||||
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Male and female Transvaal lion | ||||||||||||||||
Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||||
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Latin name | ||||||||||||||||
Panthera leo krugeri ( Roberts , 1929) |
Description
Males reach a length of 2.6–3.2 m, including the tail. The lionesses are a bit shorter - 2.35-2.75 m. The weight of the male is usually 150-250 kg, and the females 110-180 kg. The height at withers reaches 90-125 cm.
Males usually have a well-developed mane. Most of them are dark.
This subspecies of lions sometimes has leukism , a mutation that causes the animal's hair to turn white and the skin under it to be pink, because there are no melanocyte cells in it.
The main prey of Transvaal lions are antelopes , zebras , Cape buffaloes , warthogs . When game is small, they can hunt giraffe pups.
According to recent genetic studies, an extinct Cape Lion , previously isolated in a separate subspecies, did not have significant differences with the South African subspecies. Therefore, the Cape Lion represented the southern population of the Transvaal lion.
Area
The Transvaal lion lives in South Africa, including the Kruger National Park and the Kalahari Desert area .
Over 2000 individuals of this species have good protection in the Kruger National Park. In addition, about 1000 individuals are registered in ISIS. These animals are descendants of lions caught in South Africa.
Links
- Transvaal Lion . Big cats .
- Leo (Inaccessible link) . Wildlife . The date of circulation is June 26, 2015. Archived June 26, 2015.